The resource was developed as a result of research which found that many children are prevented from registering British citizenship, despite living nearly all their lives in the UK. While many children can become British through a process called registration, their legal situation is often complicated.

Issues often come to light when young people discover, for example, that they are unable to apply for university as home students.

'Many children are unaware of their precarious immigration status until a trigger point is reached.'

(Children's British Citizenship: exposing the barriers to registration. Bristol: University of Bristol)

The primary challenges to acquisition of citizenship are not found in the law as it exists in the books. The law currently gives the Home Secretary a discretionary power to grant citizenship to any child. Furthermore, both domestic and international law give strong protection for children’s rights, placing welfare and best interests at the heart of decisions concerning children.